Citroen Opts to Sell Comfortable Cars Instead of Joining the Price-Slashing Trend

KatadataOTO – The French car brand, Citroen, does not deny that the Indonesian automotive market is facing challenges throughout 2025.

Citroen itself has tried to boost sales through models believed to be in high demand by local consumers, such as compact SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicle).

For example, the electric car Citroen E-C3 is offered starting from Rp 377 million and already has CKD (Completely Knocked Down) status.

Although it is claimed to have received a positive response, Citroen is reluctant to explicitly disclose its sales figures.

Photo : KatadataOTO

Referring to data from Gaikindo (Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries), wholesales (distribution from factory to dealer) of the Citroen E-C3 from January-May 2025 only reached 166 units.

When asked about a price-slashing strategy like that carried out by Chinese manufacturers, a Citroen representative said they are not heading in that direction yet.

“To this day, we are still taking a wait-and-see approach. Currently, we continue to emphasize the comfort of our cars,” said Tan Kim Piauw, CEO of Citroen Indonesia, when met in Jakarta on Monday (07/07).

He did not deny that many Chinese manufacturers have started to lower prices and attract more consumers.

But that is something Citroen has already anticipated. Tan revealed that the price-slashing strategy is being carried out by Chinese manufacturers in various countries.

“We (as) automotive players see that sooner or later this will happen in Indonesia. Citroen has already predicted it, we are not too surprised,” he said.

He emphasized that Citroen will still focus on offering comfort as the main advantage of their vehicle lineup in the country.

“The majority of customers who choose Citroen are looking for a comfortable car,” Tan asserted.

Citroen's Sales Performance in Indonesia

Photo : Citroen

Generally, manufacturers carry out local assembly for cars that can become the backbone of sales or can be produced in large quantities.

However, throughout 2025, it seems the Citroen E-C3 has not been able to meet this. Referring to wholesales data, the C3 Aircross actually had more units distributed to dealers, at 246 units.

Here we summarize Citroen's retail sales data in Indonesia for the January-May 2025 period.